By Frances Robles; Miami Herald
Puerto Rico Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá (D) tried to make his stroll down Old San Juan for an afternoon cup of coffee look casual, but the gaggle of reporters and photographers following him gave it away: The U.S. commonwealth is in a political tailspin.
A recent 27-count indictment of Acevedo and 12 allies capped three years of political turmoil, further dividing an already fractious political scene. It put the last year of Acevedo's term in doubt and raised questions about whether at the Democratic National Convention, the superdelegate -- a supporter of presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) -- can be a viable candidate in November's gubernatorial election.
For now, the leadership of Acevedo's Popular Democratic Party is standing behind him -- and even announced a legal defense fund that it hopes will reach $2 million. Others are griping that Acevedo can't possibly win the election. Acevedo himself suggested that he would do whatever it takes for his party to win, even step aside.
For now he is back at work, announcing new infrastructure projects and meeting with the chief of police.
But Acevedo already faced a difficult battle: The island is in a severe recession, marked by an exodus of its middle class. A budget crisis two years ago forced him to shut down the government for two weeks. A teacher strike just ended, and Acevedo enacted the first sales tax and raised water fees. Unemployment is rampant, and inflation is at 15 percent.
"He won't be the candidate. He's dead meat," said political commentator Luis Dávila Colón. "But he also definitely won't resign; he needs the governorship to mount his defense."
Just seven months before an election, Acevedo has been charged with 19 of the federal crimes in the 27-count indictment, including using campaign funds to buy $57,000 worth of suits. Opponents have called for his resignation, and others have said he should be impeached.
But the governor with some of the lowest approval ratings in Puerto Rico's history is determined to stay in office and run for reelection. A few hours after he was fingerprinted at the FBI's San Juan bureau, his office put out a news release about global warming.
"Actually, I have a cabinet meeting right after this press conference, and I will initiate my schedule starting next Monday," Acevedo said after pleading not guilty in federal court last month. "I want to invite the people of Puerto Rico to reflect about all this process and to look for ways on how this difficult time can make us even stronger."
He asked the public for a little time and a little space.
Acevedo was charged with conspiracy to circumvent campaign finance laws. The U.S. attorney's office in San Juan says that when he was a candidate for resident commissioner, Puerto Rico's nonvoting representative in Congress, Acevedo accepted $7 million of public campaign financing, which required him to keep the costs of his campaign under $11 million. He surpassed that cap and allegedly covered it up by asking donors to pay off the campaign's bill with an ad agency, which in turn concocted invoices, according to an indictment.
Because his 2000 campaign was more than $500,000 in debt, Acevedo continued to raise money after the race through "straw contributions" and then lobbied on behalf of the consultants who helped raise the money, a grand jury indictment said.
He also is accused of using campaign funds for family vacations to Miami, Orlando and Costa Rica, in addition to airfare to China for his two children.
Already people are floating names of possible contenders to run in his place, including former governor Rafael Hernández Colón, Caguas Mayor William Miranda Marín and former secretary of commerce Alejandro García Padilla.
"Those who are talking about candidacies at this moment have not understood what this is about," Acevedo said at a recent news conference, according to the Primera Hora newspaper Web site. "I asked the Popular Party for space, and the Popular Party gave it to me. Not the leaders, the people. That space for dialogue and reflection is just beginning. For this great battle, I will do what has to be done."
Moments after Acevedo's indictment was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez, Comptroller Manuel Díaz Saldaña used his turn at the microphone to call for Acevedo's resignation. It was not long before Acevedo's opponent in the governor's race, Resident Commissioner Luis G. Fortuño, did the same.
"If anything, these accusations, irregularities and leaks show me that the Popular Democratic Party has to win the elections," Acevedo said at a news conference just after he turned himself in to authorities last month. "If these people can do this to the governor elected by the people of Puerto Rico, imagine what they could do if they had all the powers -- federal and state."
If Acevedo stepped down as governor, Secretary of State Fernando Bonilla would take his place.
Acevedo and his supporters say the case is a product of a Republican witch hunt. The Justice Department has scoffed at the charges.
"He will be making sure this doesn't derail him from what he has to do: be governor," Flavio Cumpiano, executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, said in a telephone interview from Washington. "We believe that is exactly what they were trying to do -- derail him and get him to resign. He is not going to resign."
Fortuño said that Acevedo's policies put Puerto Rico in the worst recession since World War II and that the governor has tried to cloak his actions in false anti-U.S. patriotism.
"You don't have to be corrupt to be a patriot," Fortuño said at a televised news conference.
The son of a former senator, Acevedo was elected to Puerto Rico's House of Representatives in 1992. Reelected in 1996, he was House minority leader the next year. He has been his party's president for a decade, and before becoming governor was the nonvoting representative in Congress.
A controversial figure known for keeping tight control on his party, Acevedo faces the political fight of his life.
"I see this as a real challenge, a personal challenge," he told reporters, "but I see it also as a fight and a challenge for the people of Puerto Rico."